Potluck Panic

For that is what God is like. He is our God
forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die.
—Psalm 48:14 NLT

I was recently asked to bring a broccoli cauliflower casserole to a home potluck that was to be held out at the lake. Rather than say, “I have no idea what that is”, I responded, “sure!” After all, I write for Bonnie’s Kitchen at CWO – if I can’t try new recipes once in a while how can I expect my readers to?

There are usually a couple of rules I apply when trying out new recipes:

Don’t try them out on guests. Tackle them at home first where the crowd is a little more forgiving.

Don’t try them in an unfamiliar kitchen. Try them out first where your normal cooking has been tried and true.

With this casserole I was breaking all the rules. I pulled a recipe off the internet and in my usual style tweaked it a little before even trying the original recipe. Although I had not tried it in my own kitchen first, it looked foolproof so I decided it would be perfect for the potluck.

When I got to the lake the oven was broken! Without grocery stores readily available I had to alter my plans to adjust my casserole to be a stovetop recipe. I will admit my stress level was raised a bit.

Uncertainty always causes a little stress. Look at the market conditions lately. No one can predict what will happen over the next few weeks, never mind the next few years. For many, stress levels are increasing with each news broadcast.

When there is uncertainty I am comforted in knowing that there are some very basic things I can count on lasting forever.

My God is the same yesterday today and forever.

Seasons may change, the world may change but the Word of the Lord will last forever.

No matter who becomes ruler of our country, my God will reign forever and ever.

No matter where I have to live today, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I may never get invited back to a potluck at Dorothy’s but nothing can separate me from the love of God!

Post navigation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

From Us For You

Welcome!
Thank you for joining us today!

… may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. ~ 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

Who's Online

27 visitors online now

But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ~ John 10:2-4

“Know his voice”… It’s at this point many of us get bogged down, confused , or even fearful ~ feeling and thinking, “But I Don’t know His voice!”
It’s also at this point that we can and should take a deep breath if necessary, relax, and be at peace, resting in and trusting our Good Shepherd! Our ability to follow Him does not rest on us alone because our Good Shepherd will Not fail us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), nor will He suffer us to be lost! (Matthew 18:12, Luke 15:4)

The verse cited at the beginning says He calls us “by name”. Often in the trials and business of life ~ and particularly, even, in the midst of our service ~ it’s easy to lose track of the Reality that we are uniquely and individually loved by God Himself! (Matt. 10:30,
Lk 12:7) He sees us, Knows us, and Loves us deeply!
(1 Corinthians 13: 12)

1 Cor. 13 also tells us that love never fails (v. 8) and 1 John tells us that God is love (4:8), so here again are Truths we can rely on ~ and rest in, and be at peace in!

This isn’t to say there aren’t things we can do to help ourselves be familiar with His voice. We already know what those things are and the enemy of our souls works hard to both keep us from them, and then turns to accuse and berate us for not pursuing those thing “enough”. Let’s just raise a shield of faith stamped with Rom. 8:1 against the accusations of the enemy and turn our face to the Sun of Righteousness instead. (Malachi 4:2) Then let us follow follow our Good Shepherd in peace and trust as He leads us day by day. (Matt. 6:34)